Many patents describe processes for manufacturing fibers from polyamide polymers. U.S. Pat. No. 2,212,772 describes the preparation of fibers such as bristles, sutures, fishing lines and the like from polyamides polymers. The process described in this patent consists of extruding the fiber then rapidly cooling the fiber in a liquid quenching bath to improve the fiber's drawability. Later patents describe processes for making heavy denier polyamide fibers used as the tire reinforcement (such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,009,511) or fishing lines (such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,338,277 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,082,610). Unfortunately, these later processes are not readily adapted to the production of sutures.
Sutures, unlike the tire cords and fishing lines described above, require a unique combination of physical properties. Ideally, polyamide sutures must be nonirritating, flexible, with high tensile strength and knot strength. Additionally, sutures must retain their physical properties after conventional processing such as dyeing, sterilization and resterilization. Obtaining the desired combination of physical properties is further complicated by the fact that polyamide sutures commonly are produced in very small diameter filaments. For example, the nylon sutures commonly used in ophthalmic surgery, have a diameter of only 20-29 microns.
Currently, polyamide sutures are produced by extruding a polyamide polymer through a spinnerette into a quenching medium then drawing the resultant fiber to obtain the desired degree of orientation. The sutures are then dyed to the desired color, attached to needles, packaged and sterilized. The sutures may then be sold directly to surgeons, hospitals or suppliers. Often after being sold to hospitals or suppliers the sutures are repackaged in surgical kits and resterilized.
Although the polyamide sutures produced as described above have acceptable physical properties, it would be desirable to improve these sutures. Thus it is an object of the present invention to provide polyamide sutures with improved tensile strengths and greater resistance to suture degradation during dyeing, sterilization and resterilization. Another object of the present invention is to provide a process for making polyamide sutures with improved tensile strengths and greater resistance to suture degradation during dyeing, sterilization and resterilization.